Downsizing grows as manufacturers shrink product sizes without lowering prices – CBS Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – The annual inflation rate hit 7.5 percent in January, a forty-year high, and it’s taking its toll on grocery store shelves.

As currency editor Jon Delano explains, instead of increasing the price of their products, some manufacturers have downsized their package sizes.

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It’s called deflation: shrinking a product without changing its price.

“It was really a sneaky way to raise prices,” said Edgar Dworsk.

The founder of ConsumerWorld.org and MousePrint.org, Dworsk has collected many examples of miniature inflation, which occurs more in times of inflation like this one.

“Manufacturers know that most consumers are unaware of net weight. They don’t look at the fine print on the product box, so they won’t even realize they’ve been snoring,” Dworsky told KDKA pre-editor Jon Delano on Thursday.

In some cases, the packaging is the same with just fewer items inside like a vial with less than ten pills or a bag of chips with less than an ounce of crumbs. Other manufacturers have downsized both their packages and what’s inside.

(Photo: Mouse Print)

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“Breyer’s original cream—and this applies to other brands as well—was half a gallon, 64 ounces,” says Dworsky. “Then they took out a full cup, and it turned out to be 56 ounces. And then the current ice cream is 48 ounces. They took out another cup. Now when you see all the packages lined up like this, you can see the package is smaller, but we don’t usually get that opportunity on the supermarket shelf to see secondhand and news,” said the guard. consumer note.

Dworsky was asked what he thought was most likely to be subject to microinflation.

“One of the big categories that tends to be paper products. Over the years, paper towels – each sheet has gotten a little narrower, a little shorter. Same thing with toilet paper,” he said.

Dworsky also said candy has gone through deflation along with a lot of cereal and some drinks, although a half gallon of milk is still a half gallon.

His advice to consumers: be sober, compare products and “use the unit price”.

“It’s on the grocery store shelf, the price per ounce you’re paying. If you know that, you should be able to spot increases even if they are done through product shrinking. “

Is miniaturization legal? As long as the products are labeled correctly, it is very difficult to become a case of deceptive advertising. It is called the perfect business crime because it is not a crime.

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So in this case, be forewarned – let the buyer be on the lookout.